The Walking Dead Bike

We are huge fans of the AMC show The Walking Dead. The finale of season 2 pulled in something like 9 million viewers. If you’re a fan of the show you know that crossbow wielding Daryl Dixon (played by Norman Reedus) slays zombies and squirrels from the saddle of a chopper emblazoned with a nazi insignia:I believe in the story that the bike actually belonged to Daryl’s racist brother Merle (played by the awesome Michael Rooker). It’s not a Harley but most likely a 70’s era chopped Triumph Bonneville. The insignia no doubt meant more to Merle than it does to Daryl, who unlike his brother, has actually demonstrated a deep moral core, even as he struggles with his past and the specter of his brother to help protect the group. Daryl no doubt still rides it in tribute to his older brother.

As escape vehicles go the bike is very impractical, although it looks cool as hell. Zombies are aroused by and attracted to noise, and the chopper is very loud. The peanut tank is too small to afford any kind of range and the ape hangers would make it difficult to steer around corpses and abandoned cars. But what the hell, it’s a show about a zombie apocalypse so I can suspend my disbelief about the impracticality of Daryl’s ride. It fits his loner character and the scene in the season finale in front of a barn ablaze when Daryl hears the cries of Carol and swoops back to the zombie horde to save her was fantastic. The scene would have lacked its tremendous emotional impact (ie, cool-as-fuck-factor) had Daryl been driving the RV.

The Walking Dead is a great show. We can’t wait for season 3. No doubt Daryl will be kicking ass and taking names again aboard his brother’s chopper. The “IF YOU CAN READ THIS THE ZOMBIE FELL OFF” t-shirts are printing as you read this…